FROSTBURG, Md. -- Five Captains finished in double figures for the second time this season, including a quartet of freshmen, as the 17th-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team held off Frostburg State University (10-4, 2-2) in Capital Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon, 89-83. Rookie Sondra Fan notched a career-high 20 points in 24 minutes of action to lead the way for CNU, who improves to 12-3 overall, 3-1 in CAC action. 

The offensive performance was one of the most impressive nights in CNU women's basketball history, ranking in the top-ten all-time in shooting percentage at 58.3% (28-48). It is the best shooting percentage for the Captains since a record-breaking 73.8% (31-42) effort against Methodist in the 2009-10 season. Leading the dominant offensive performance for the Captains, Fan was 6-for-6 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. 

Fan's 20-point performance topped the Captains scoring leaders, while rookie Marlise Brunson also notched a career-high effort with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Freshman Jessica Foster added 13 points and 6 assists, first-year forward Natalie Terwilliger poured in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and junior scoring leader Kiana Kirkland returned to the lineup with an 11-point performance. 

The impressive individual performances came in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Captains get out to big leads, but face frenetic comeback bids by Frostburg State on multiple occasions. In the first half, CNU led by as many as 19 after a 15-2 run mid-way through the second quarter. Terwilliger hit a pair of three-pointers in the spurt, and Brunson capped the burst with a fast-break layup on an acrobatic pass from Foster. 

At the end of the second quarter, though, the Bobcats went on a 17-4 run of their own to close the gap to six at the break, 50-44. Both defenses were forcing turnovers with 36 combined between the two teams in the first 20 minutes of action. CNU was incredibly dangerous from the field in the first half, hitting 65.4% of their shots (17-26), including five made three-pointers. Frostburg State countered with a 38.3% shooting effort (14-29) with four made triples. 

Early in the third quarter, Amanda Emory led the way for Frostburg as they cut the lead to two, 53-51 just under three minutes in. CNU responded again, however, with another big run, 18-4, to-retake a 16-point lead with 1:12 remaining. The freshmen paced the Captains in the run, getting three-pointers from four different rookies to pull back ahead. Brunson hit the first, followed by one each from Phylicia McInnis, Foster, and Fan. 

Still, however, the home team would not go away without a fight. In the fourth quarter, CNU was held without a point for over five minutes as Frostburg State cut into the lead. A three-pointer by Megan Kelly with 5:12 left in regulation trimmed the advantage to 74-69. On the next CNU possession, Kirkland drove to the basket and got the foul. She hit both free-throw's, kick-starting a final five minutes that saw CNU knock down 11 shots from the charity stripe to hold off the Bobcats. Victoria Diggs and Megan Kelly each hit a pair of late-game three-pointers to give the home team hope, but CNU was steady enough from the line to hold on for the win. 

The 83 points allowed was the most for the CNU defense this season, but the Captains' offense continues to score in bunches, reaching 85 points or more for the seventh time this year. 

The Captains will return to action on Wednesday, January 16 as they travel to Southern Virginia University in league play. Tip against the first-place Knights is set for 5:30 pm.